LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) – Europe’s banks are expected to post sharp profit falls in second quarter results as they count the cost of the debt crisis and try to anticipate the impact of the Libor interest-rate rigging scandal on the industry.

The European economy is heading towards recession, making companies nervous about issuing stocks and bonds. Trading has slowed and this has hurt investment banking, typically the most lucrative part of a bank’s business.

LONDON, July 19 (Reuters) – Lloyds Banking Group
has agreed to sell 632 branches to the Co-operative, a deal
mandated by regulators in an effort to boost competition in
British banking while preventing Lloyds from benefiting unfairly
from its state bailout four years ago.

Mutually-owned Co-op said the deal would boost its share of
Britain’s branch network to 10 percent from less than four
percent, creating a new force in retail banking capable of
taking on Britain’s dominant lenders.

LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) – European fund managers are
keeping contingency plans for a euro zone break-up under wraps
in case investors who incur losses use the information as
ammunition with which to sue them.

Too much or too little public planning for a collapse of the
indebted currency union could land investment firms with
lawsuits, management consultants and legal experts said.

LONDON (Reuters) – Commodities trader Glencore fought to save its $26 billion (16.69 billion pounds) bid for miner Xstrata on Wednesday after shareholder Qatar stunned the pair with a late demand for better terms, forcing them to push back the timing of the deal.

The Qatari intervention pushed the deal to the brink as it prompted a string of major shareholders to revisit their own concerns, such as soaring executive pay and fears that the combined entity would take on riskier business.

Qatar, which remained silent on its intentions for months as it built the second-largest stake in Xstrata, said in a surprise statement on Tuesday that it supported the principle of the deal but demanded an improvement in terms from 2.8 new Glencore shares for every Xstrata share to 3.25.

June 20 (Reuters) – BP’s shareholders want to see
some radical management action to help the company turn the page
on U.S. oil spill litigation and the quarrel with its Russian
partners.

Both issues have dragged on the value of a company that was
once Britain’s biggest, but which now languishes in sixth place
with a tainted reputation in the two countries that together
account for half its oil output.

LONDON (Reuters) – Man Group Plc (EMG.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) announced the sudden departure of its finance director, the second key executive the group has lost in a week, hurting its attempts to regain investor confidence following an extended poor performance at its flagship AHL fund.

Man said on Monday Finance Director Kevin Hayes had left to pursue other professional interests with immediate effect, to be replaced by Jonathan Sorrell, son of WPP Plc (WPP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Chief Martin Sorrell and formerly Man’s head of strategy and corporate finance.